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Local Hockey

Once the Ontario Hockey League applies its stamp of approval – which could happen as soon as Monday – the Soo Greyhounds will have themselves a new player.

On Friday, Hounds general manager Kyle Dubas signed free agent centre Charley Graaskamp, who had been playing high school hockey in Eau Claire, Wisc.

A six-foot-one, 180-pounder, Graaskamp had produced 18 goals and 29 assists in 22 games this season.

A 1996-birth year player who recently turned 18, Graaskamp is a senior at Eau Claire's Memorial High School, the defending Wisconsin state champions.

He has never been drafted by an OHL team.

Hounds general manager Kyle Dubas pushed to make the move prior to Monday's 12 noon deadline, the last day when OHL clubs can put a player on a Major Junior card, making him eligible for the remainder of the season.

On Sunday, Dubas said he has “submitted paperwork to the OHL, but nothing is official until they approve it and give us the okay.”

Asked if that was merely a formality, Dubas said: “You like to think it is, but you never know.”

Once the league approves the signing, Dubas said the Hounds will have an official announcement, perhaps as soon as today.

Graaskamp would then report to the Hounds later in the week.

Asked for specifics on the player, Dubas said he wouldn't have anything more to say until the league makes things official.

“It was a hard decision,” Graaskamp told the Eau Claire Leader Telegram newspaper. “You have a community and a team behind you and a leadership role to fill, but at the end of the day you want to do what's best for you to develop and reach your full potential as a hockey player.”